Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Get ready for that Conservative Senate

Canada's mining leadership put up a united front at PDAC Monday to fight a private member's bill they say will "seriously harm" the industry if passed into law.

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The bill, which has passed second reading, calls for greater accountability on the part of Canadian mining companies working overseas in areas including environmental and social impact.

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"It's gone this far because of serendipity more than anything else," Mr. Andrews said.

However, the Senate is dominated by Conservatives, so conceivably the bill could die there.

Gordon Peeling, president of the Mining Association of Canada, said this would not be ideal as it would involve an unelected chamber of Parliament.

Not ideal, but they'd likely take it. And the Conservatives do oppose the bill after all.

This session should be quite the thing to watch with this new Senate dynamic, that's a hint of what could be in store. All that Conservative rhetoric about the unelected Senate obstructing House of Commons votes, etc. is about to become soooo last year. The Senate is about to be rechristened by Conservatives as a chamber of sober second thought. Just watch.